Saturn+-+OD

=Saturn= This page will have interesting facts and information on the planet Saturn.

Written Information:
Saturns rings are put together by ice,and chunks of debris including rock. The three different types of rings are ringlets, spokes, and braided rings. For the display of the rings there is different spacing or gaps, depending on the composition of that rings layers. So far there has been 52 discovered moons of Saturn. The main six moons are Janus, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, and the most famous Titan. One of the smallest moons is Enceladus, and the largest is Titan. Did you know that the moon Titan is estimated to be almost the same mass as the planet Mercury? What is also fasinating is how it is the second largest moon out of the entire solar system. The biggest moon is Ganymede, one of Jupiters moons. They have also said that Titan resembles Earth from long ago. Saturns composition includes many particles of helium and hydrogen. There is a little bit of nitrogen and oxygen however. The composition of saturn also ties into its atmosphere because of saturns appearance. The yellow color that it has is from the high amount of Sulfer. In addition, the oxygen and nitrogen molecules create dense smog and clouds.

Visuals [] || [] || [] ||~  ||~   ||~   ||
 * [[image:http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/image/planetary/saturn/hst_saturn_storm.jpg width="231" height="127" caption="This is a picture from the Hubble Space telescope during a storm on saturn."]]
 * [[image:http://www.universetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/cassinirings-580x285.jpg width="240" height="125" caption="This was from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Also in it it shows the sun lighting it up since it was taken from behind."]]
 * [[image:http://www.universetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/cassinirings-580x285.jpg width="240" height="125" caption="This was from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Also in it it shows the sun lighting it up since it was taken from behind."]]



**Works Cited** **Sources** : Include the source information for all of the magazine articles, reference sources (encyclopedias) and web site pages that were used to complete your project. The source information for encyclopedias may be found at the end or beginning of each entry in iCONN. When using periodicals, the publication information will be at the beginning or end of the article. This needs to be formatted for MLA standards. If it is not labeled 'Source Citation' it can be formatted appropriately by using EasyBib.com. You should use EasyBib for the web sites. The final Works Cited should be listed in alphabetical order by the first word of the source citation. "Milky Way." //Kids InfoBits Presents: Astronomy//. Gale, 2008. Reproduced in Kids InfoBits. Detroit: Gale, 2012. "The Milky Way." //WMAP's Universe//. NASA, 28 June 2010. Web. 06 Mar. 2012. . Vergano, Dan. "Galaxy Bracketed by Big Bubbles." //USA Today// 10 Nov. 2010: 05A. Web. 6 Mar. 2012.
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**Topic: Research Focus**
 * Saturn is the topic**
 * Saturns rings,moons,composition,and atmosphere.**
 * This page will give you all the valuable information on saturn and is an excellent reference.**

=Notes=

Rings:
Saturn's **ring system** is the most extensive and complex in the solar system, extending hundreds of thousands of kilometers from the planet. In the early 1980s, NASA's two Voyager spacecraft revealed that Saturn's rings are made mostly of water ice. They also found "braided" rings, ringlets, and "spokes," dark features in the rings that circle the planet at different rates from that of the surrounding ring material. Material in the rings ranges in size from a few micrometers to several tens of meters. Two of Saturn's small moons orbit within gaps in the main rings.

Moons:
Saturn has 52 known natural satellites, or **moons**, and there are probably many more waiting to be discovered. Saturn's largest satellite, **Titan**, is a bit bigger than the planet Mercury. (Titan is the second-largest moon in the solar system; only Jupiter's moon Ganymede is bigger.) Titan is shrouded in a thick, nitrogen-rich atmosphere that might be similar to what Earth's was like long ago. Further study of this moon promises to reveal much about planetary formation and, perhaps, about the early days of Earth. Saturn also has many smaller "icy" satellites. From Enceladus, which shows evidence of recent (and ongoing) surface changes, to Iapetus, with one hemisphere darker than asphalt and the other as bright as snow, each of Saturn's satellites is unique.

Composition:
Saturn's atmosphere is mostly made of the simple molecules hydrogen and helium. There is a lot of sulfur, which gives Saturn its yellow color. There is also nitrogen and oxygen, which are in the air that we breath every day on Earth. These molecules combine to make clouds of complex molecules, such as clouds of water and smog.

Atmosphere:
The dramatic appearance of Saturn stems mainly from the spectacular rings. The atmosphere looks much less dramatic. The clouds of Saturn are much less colorful than those of Jupiter. This is because the composition of Saturn's atmosphere includes more sulfur. This adds to Saturn's overall yellow appearance. When you look closely, however, Saturn's atmosphere is just as fierce as that of Jupiter! The atmosphere of Saturn, like Jupiter, is only a narrow region, compared to the vast interior of Saturn. The three clouddecks of Saturn are to be found mostly low in the atmosphere, while hazes of smog can be found higher up. Saturn is not much changed from its early evolution out of the primitive solar nebula, and in fact, may still be forming! Motions in the cloud patterns indicate that, like Jupiter, the basic weather of Saturn can be described as a striped pattern of winds.